So needless to say, I slept in as late as possible today. I stayed in bed till 12:30 trying to catch up on my missed sleep. Immediately after getting up I went to the beach with Amanda. My parents were already drinking at a bar, but I decided to opt out of the tiring conversation and go with Amanda to hang out with her friends farther down the beach. I met a few more of her friends and talked a lot with Jardel who I had met early in the week. Jardel has studied English for 3 years and is a very good mediator. However, I have found that just because they have studied a language for a long time doesn't mean that they can string a sentence together or use correct pronunciation. I guess the same could be said about our Spanish program in the states. Anyways, Jardel is becoming a good friend of mine and we mutually learn a lot from our encounters. I mostly read my book and wrote in my journal for class on the beach, but I also tried out body boarding for the first time. It is kinda like boogie boarding but with cool tricks. I feel really old around most of my friends because they are only 16-20 years old. I have met a few older people but they are very busy since they have already started their jobs and even families.
After spending all day on the beach, I went back home and worked on some more homework. At 7:30 I went to church with my family (no dad). My family attends a very nice Baptist church with AC! I thought that going to church would calm me down a bit, but it actually made me miss home a lot. It was very overwhelming to hear a 1.5 hour service and only understand a few words or phrases here and there.
I still go through times where I really miss home, but I just remember that these thoughts will pass quickly. Typically, I am stuck in a rut for only a couple minutes and then something comes along that really changes my attitude and makes me realize how blessed I am to be here. The language barrier is what usually makes me feel like this, but a single victory in stringing a sentence together can rescue me.
After we returned home, Jardel and Nicole called me and Amanda to ask us to go get Acai juice. I have already had this food early in my travels and I love it. Apparently it is really healthy for you too! This is something that would do very well in the US. They use whole Acai berries and blend them with their Brazilian soft drink (Guanana). This paste substance is then flavored with additional sweet juices and granola. It is so good! Guanana is also another Brazilian food that would do excellent in the US. According to Daniel and Nicole we have it in foreign food markets. I would definitely encourage you to look for some and enjoy it as cold as possible.
After going to the park, our friends would not let us walk home alone so late, so Jardel's brother's friend took us home. He is a rich surgeon here, but I think the expectations for doctors are different here. The whole time we were at the park, he was just sitting outside his house talking to friends. I like this amount of free time for doctors!
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